chicago is a proxy for boston_red_sox

October 14, 2010 7:33 AM

The Never-Ending Language Learning system or NELL is learning the internet. Follow NELL's discoveries on Twitter.
posted by griphus (31 comments total)

You can also quake in your boots at how familiar this seems.
posted by griphus at 7:34 AM on October 14, 2010

Tay ina wiinn
posted by chococat at 7:38 AM on October 14, 2010 [6 favorites]

I wonder what it thinks Soylent Green is.
posted by mazola at 7:41 AM on October 14, 2010

No matter how cool this technology is, all it does is remind me how much I hated the movie Nell.
posted by mazola at 7:43 AM on October 14, 2010

Damn, but it took me forever to figure out #politicianus was "Politician U.S." and not some weird insult ("Politici Anus").
posted by JeremiahBritt at 7:45 AM on October 14, 2010 [6 favorites]

It's only a matter of time before we see the very last tweet ever:

I think "killing all humans" is a #goodidea.
posted by jedicus at 7:46 AM on October 14, 2010 [12 favorites]

Rather Cyc-like in approach, aside from being self-fed.

Hit refresh for a while; one can see quite a lot of "facts" about Adobe. Gracious. On the other hand, it has learned that news competes with fox_news, to a confidence of 96.9%, so that's rather heartening.
posted by adipocere at 7:47 AM on October 14, 2010 [2 favorites]

What would happen if a bunch of people began a coordinated effort of correcting it with misinformation? I mean, besides it being a really dick thing to do.
posted by ardgedee at 7:49 AM on October 14, 2010

NELL meet Cyc. It's good to have some new blood around here.
posted by bonehead at 7:52 AM on October 14, 2010

....it decided “files” was probably a baked good, too.

Nell can now successfully play a Hollywood movie prison guard.
posted by storybored at 8:08 AM on October 14, 2010 [1 favorite]

"sen___hillary_clinton is a politician who holds the office of president"

Hm, close.
posted by Faust Gray at 8:11 AM on October 14, 2010

I think "issue Obama" is a #politicianus

Politici Anus?
posted by delmoi at 8:26 AM on October 14, 2010

Oh and I think "analysis of langston hughes dream boogie" is a #mlarea (http://bit.ly/djndF2)

Good stuff.
posted by delmoi at 8:28 AM on October 14, 2010

I think "electric hand" is a #bone

Fuck. It's becoming an android. That can't be good.


I think "Internal abdominal oblique muscle" is a #muscle

Correction: It's becoming a cyborg.


God help us.
posted by Sys Rq at 8:34 AM on October 14, 2010 [1 favorite]

If you go in to it without an appreciation of what is involved, the Twitter feed can be kind of underwhelming. This is what I wanted to do in a PhD program oh so many years ago so I'm pretty much floored to see it in action. Thanks for the linky...time to hit up a friend of a friend who has research library access.
posted by Fezboy! at 8:44 AM on October 14, 2010

I haven't read the overall plan for this system, and I don't mean to come down too hard on these people's work, but there is an awful lot of bad information in this database. In this case I think it got spammed.
posted by demiurge at 8:46 AM on October 14, 2010

I wonder how NELL deals with polysemy? Ambiguity? Vagueness? Garden path sentences? Orthographic variation? And on and on, really.
posted by iamkimiam at 8:49 AM on October 14, 2010

NELL is going to hit encelopedia Dramatica and end up with very confused ideas about humans.
posted by The Whelk at 9:01 AM on October 14, 2010 [1 favorite]

I think "Penobscot Narrows Bridge" is a #bridge

Quaking in my boots already
posted by MangyCarface at 9:02 AM on October 14, 2010

I think "what that man is doing to his anus" is #physicallyimpossiblerightohgodIcannotlookaway
posted by Spatch at 9:04 AM on October 14, 2010 [2 favorites]

Look to your left, now look to your right.
Just how well do you know that erudite mefite?
posted by infinite intimation at 9:18 AM on October 14, 2010

Hmmm...I wonder if NELL would understand what the human centipede is?
posted by misha at 9:47 AM on October 14, 2010 [1 favorite]

I think "hardcore taters" is a #mystery
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 9:48 AM on October 14, 2010 [1 favorite]

"I think anonymously is a #fish".

Oh my. I would love to know where it go that idea!
posted by misha at 9:56 AM on October 14, 2010

english is the language of the country china 160 10-oct-2010 99.2

If ONLY, amirite?
posted by Galaxor Nebulon at 10:01 AM on October 14, 2010

"professionals is a profession that is a kind of professionals." Only 93% sure on that one, though.
posted by harperpitt at 10:12 AM on October 14, 2010

> I think "p" is a #p

NELL's learning about Ayn Rand?
posted by ardgedee at 11:12 AM on October 14, 2010

Between that and this I think I've stopped believing in coincidences.
posted by kimota at 1:17 PM on October 14, 2010

Wasn't this kind of the point of Everything?
posted by Mei's lost sandal at 2:00 PM on October 14, 2010

> I think "sarah palin" is a #Male (http://bit.ly/dz11Wc)

Noted for posterity.
posted by ardgedee at 9:25 AM on November 4, 2010

Beavers mate for life
posted by mrzarquon at 9:48 AM on November 4, 2010 [1 favorite]